Dynamic destination map display for navigation system

ABSTRACT

A map display apparatus and method for a navigation changes a map scale dynamically to help the driver visualize the environment of the destination when the vehicle is approaching the destination. The map scale is changed dynamically to display the destination along with at least one map attribute near the destination to provide more information to the driver. The navigation system includes, among others, a searching unit and a scale changing unit to change the map scale to display the destination along with at least one map attribute when the vehicle is approaching the destination. The navigation system also includes a priority table to prioritize the map attributes and the searching unit searches the map attributes near the destination according to order in the priority table.

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/386,417,filed Apr. 17, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a map display apparatus and method for anavigation system, and more specifically, to a map display apparatus andmethod which changes map scales dynamically to provide a driver moreaccurate environmental information around a destination when the vehicleis approaching the destination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently, vehicle navigation systems have become more popular andaffordable for most vehicle drivers. The navigation system can, not onlydetermine the driver's current position by utilizing the GlobalPositioning System (GPS), but also provide different routing informationbetween the vehicle's current position and the destination. In order toperform above noted functions, the navigation system is usually equippedwith navigation computer programs and one or more detailed database tostore and provide information on maps, map attributes, road networks,geographical features and points-of-interests (POI), etc.

Generally, when a destination is specified by the driver, the navigationsystem generates a calculated route which is a preferred or optimizedroute to the destination. The calculated route is usually displayedassociated with a map in a highlighted manner on a display unit in thevehicle. However, even with the aid of the navigation system, the drivermay still miss the destination if the destination is new to the driveror the driver is unfamiliar with the environment nearby the destination.

Even though the driver is relatively familiar with the environmentnearby the destination, if he approaches the destination in a directiondifferent from that of the past experience, he may lose sight of thedestination. Under these circumstances, the driver may need moregeographical information near the destination, such as major streets,landmarks, brand POIs, etc., to help the driver visualize theenvironment of the destination. With such visualized information aroundthe destination, the driver can have better sense when the vehicle isapproaching the destination.

In order to provide the driver better sense and help the drivervisualize the environment near the destination, a map with dynamic scaleto display some geographical features near the destination has beendeveloped in navigation systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,255 issued to Elliset al. discloses a navigation system which is able to tailor the mapinformation and then transmits the information to the driver. In oneembodiment, the navigation system of Ellis et al. provides the mapinformation of varying degrees of resolution and detail.

However, as shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b of Ellis et al., the driver hasto manually operate the pull-down window to select the scale of the mapresolution 110 and the detail level 120. In other words, the mapresolution as well as the details are not dynamically changed when thevehicle is approaching the destination. Further, the driver may bedistracted from the safe driving when he has to manually operate thepull-down window in the system.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,343 issued to Yurimoto et al. discloses a navigationdevice adapted to display a starting point and a route search beginningpoint at the highest possible scale. The navigation device can display apart of the searched route (calculated route) and the vehicle's presentposition at the highest possible scale when the vehicle is traveling onthe searched route. As shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, when the vehicle 210is approaching the route search beginning point 220, the map scale ischanged at the highest possible level in a predetermined area 240 tohelp the driver better visualize the environment of the search beginningpoint 220 and the route 230.

Although the map scale in Yurimoto et al. is changed dynamically, themap is designed to accommodate some specific points, such as a startingpoint and a route search beginning point, or a search ending point and adestination point, at the highest possible scale. However, if the searchending point is far away from the destination point, even though the mapis changed to the highest possible scale, it may still be difficult forthe driver to visualize the environment of the destination. Furthermore,the search ending point may not be a major street or a landmarkassociated with the destination, thus, it does not provide substantialhelp to the driver to understand more about the environment of thedestination.

Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved map displayingapparatus and method for a navigation system which provides the drivermore geographical or environmental information close to the destinationto help the driver better visualize the arrival of the destination, suchthat the possibility for the driver to miss the destination will besignificantly reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a map displayingmethod and apparatus for a navigation system to assist the driver bettervisualize a destination where the map scale changes dynamically todisplay the destination along with at least one map attribute near thedestination.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a prioritytable of map attributes wherein the navigation system in the presentinvention starts searching the map attributes according to a prioritylist in the table when the vehicle is within a predetermined distancefrom the destination, and dynamically changes the map scale to displaythe map attributes with the destination.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mapdisplaying method and apparatus for a navigation system which allows theuser to determine the priority of the map attributes according to his orher own preference and the environment near the destination.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mapdisplaying method and apparatus for a navigation system where the mapscale changes dynamically to display at least one map attribute with atleast a portion of the calculated route when the vehicle is deviatingfrom the calculated route.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a navigation systemhas a dynamic map display apparatus which is activated when a vehicle isapproaching a destination. The dynamic map display apparatus includes adisplay unit configured to display routing information, maps and mapattributes in various scales; an information receiver adapted to receiveinformation about current location of a vehicle from a globalpositioning system (GPS); at least one database to store and providemaps, road networks, geographical features, and POI information; aposition and distance measuring unit which is programmed to retrieve themap and road network data from the database and provide position anddistance information.

The display unit may include a map scale changing unit which is adaptedto change the map scale to accommodate at least one map attributeassociated with the destination to provide the driver more accurateinformation on the environment of the destination.

In one embodiment, the navigation system includes a priority table inwhich different map attributes, such as major streets, brand POIs,parks, schools, etc., are prioritized to be displayed along with thedestination in the map. The navigation system may further include asearching unit, for example, if the destination is located at a ruralarea where no major street or road is located nearby, the searching unitwill look for the brand POI near the destination. If there is still nobrand POI close to the destination, the searching unit will look for thenext map attribute in the priority table until an appropriate mapattribute is found.

In another aspect, a method of displaying dynamic map scale when thevehicle is approaching the destination includes the steps of: inputtinga destination, calculating the route and providing routing information,searching for map attributes within a predetermined distance of thedestination, determining the most appropriate map scale in which boththe destination and map attribute can be displayed, and displaying theconfirm map destination screen at the system selected map scale.

In one embodiment of the method, the step of searching for the mapattributes within a predetermined distance of the destination includessearching the map attributes in a priority table where the mapattributes are prioritized in a priority list, such that if the systemcan not find a specific map attribute near the destination, the systemcan keep searching the next map attribute in the priority list until itis found.

According to the present invention, the navigation system automaticallychanges the map scale to help the driver better visualize theenvironment of the destination when the vehicle is approaching thedestination. The map scale is changed dynamically to display thedestination along with at least one map attribute near the destinationto provide more environmental information to the driver. Thus, becauseof this enhanced environmental information, even if the driver isunfamiliar with the destination, he will not miss the arrival at thedestination.

The present invention together with the above and other advantages maybest be understood from the following detailed description of theembodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are schematic diagrams showing an example ofconventional technology in which a map scale and a detail level on adisplay of the navigation system can be manually adjusted.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are schematic diagrams showing another example ofconventional technology in which a map scale can be changedautomatically when the vehicle is approaching a route search beginningpoint.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of structure ofa vehicle navigation system implementing the dynamic map displayapparatus and method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of priority table to prioritize mapattributes to be displayed with the destination on the display unit inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate display examples according to oneembodiment of the present invention in which the map scale changesdynamically to accommodate the major streets and the destination whenthe vehicle is approaching the destination.

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b illustrate display examples according to anotherembodiment of the present invention in which the map scale changesdynamically to accommodate the park (landmark) and the destination whenthe vehicle is approaching the destination.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of operational steps involvingthe method of displaying a dynamic map scale of the present invention toaccommodate at least one map attribute and the destination when thevehicle is approaching the destination.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofthe presently exemplary device provided in accordance with aspects ofthe present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms inwhich the present invention may be prepared or utilized. It is to beunderstood, rather, that the same or equivalent functions and componentsmay be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended tobe encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

All publications mentioned are incorporated by reference for the purposeof describing and disclosing, for example, the designs and methodologiesthat are described in the publications which might be used in connectionwith the presently described invention. The publications listed ordiscussed above, below and throughout the text are provided solely fortheir disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application.Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors arenot entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devicesand materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used inthe practice or testing of the invention, the exemplary methods, devicesand materials are now described in the following.

The present invention relates to a map display apparatus and method in anavigation system where the scale of the map is dynamically changed tohelp the driver better visualize the environment of the destination whenthe vehicle is approaching the destination. More specifically, the mapscale is changed dynamically to display the destination along with atleast one map attribute near the destination to provide moreenvironmental information to the driver. Thus, because of theenvironmental information, even if the driver is unfamiliar with thedestination, he will not miss the arrival at the destination.

Furthermore, the navigation system in the present invention provides apriority list in a priority table to prioritize the map attributes. Inother words, if one map attribute does not exist near the destination,the navigation system will search for the next map attribute in thepriority list until an appropriate map attribute near the destination isfound. After the appropriate map attribute is found, the map scale ischanged dynamically to display the destination with the map attribute.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of structure of a vehiclenavigation system 300 for implementing the present invention. As can beseen in FIG. 3, the navigation system 300 includes a display unit 301, asearching unit 302 adapted to search for at least one map attribute nearthe destination, a map scale changing unit 303 adapted to dynamicallychange the map scale to display the destination with the mapattribute(s) found by the searching unit 302 in an appropriate map size.The navigation system also includes a data storage device 304 such as ahard disc, CD-ROM, DVD or other storage means for storing the map data.The navigation system includes a control unit 305 for controlling anoperation for reading the information from the data storage device 304,and a position and distance measuring device 306 for measuring thepresent vehicle position or user position. For example, the position anddistance measuring device 306 has a vehicle speed sensor for detecting amoving distance, a gyroscope for detecting a moving direction, amicroprocessor for calculating a position, a GPS (Global PositioningSystem) receiver for receiving GPS signals from satellites forcalculating a current position of the vehicle.

The block diagram of FIG. 3 further includes a map information memory307 for storing the map information which is read from the data storagedevice 304, a database memory 308 for storing database information suchas a point of interest (POI) information which is read out from the datastorage device 304, an input device 313 for executing a menu selectionoperation, an enlarge/reduce operation, a destination input operation,etc., and an input device interface 312. In one embodiment, the inputdevice 313 is a remote controller.

Still referring to FIG. 3, the navigation system 300 includes a bus 311for interfacing the above units in the system, a processor (CPU) 314 forcontrolling an overall operation of the navigation system 300, a ROM 319for storing various control programs such as a route search program anda map matching program necessary for navigation operation, a RAM 320 forstoring a processing result such as a guide route, a display controller315 for generating a map image (a map guide image and an arrow guideimage) on the basis of the map information, a VRAM 316 for storingimages generated by the display controller 315, a menu/list generatingunit 318 for generating menu image/various list images, a synthesizingunit 317, a wireless communication device 309 to retrieve data such astraffic data from a remote server, and a buffer memory 310 for temporarystoring data for ease of data processing.

A program for conducting the operation of the dynamic map display in thepresent invention shown in the flow chart of FIG. 7 is stored in the ROM319 or other memory and is executed by the CPU 314. The CPU 314 controlsan overall operation of the navigation system in the conventionaltechnology in addition to the dynamic map display apparatus and methodof the present invention.

Although not shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the navigation system300 further includes a priority table 400 as illustrated in FIG. 4.Namely, FIG. 4 shows an example of the priority table 400 to prioritizethe map attributes to be displayed with the destination on the displayunit in accordance with the present invention. In the priority table400, different map attributes 410, such as major streets, brand POIs,parks, schools, etc., are prioritized in a priority list 411. In oneembodiment, at least one map attribute in the priority list 411 isdisplayed along with the destination (typically, a destination mark oricon on the map image) in the display unit 301.

The searching unit 302, as illustrated above with reference to FIG. 3,is adapted to search the map attributes 410 near the destinationaccording to the priority list 411 in the priority table 400. Namely,when the vehicle is approaching the destination, the searching unit 302starts a process of searching the map attributes 410 according thepriority order of “Major Street”, “Brand POI”, “Park”, . . . etc. asdefined by the priority list 411. The searching unit 302 continues thesearching operation until at least one appropriate map attribute 410 isfound near the destination.

In addition, the priority table 400 also provides search distanceinformation 420 for the searching unit 302. For example, as shown inFIG. 4, when the position and distance measuring device 306 indicatesthat the vehicle is within a predetermined distance to the destination,the searching unit 302 is then triggered to search, according to thepriority list 411, “Major Street”, within 0.5 miles from thedestination. If no major street is found within the search distance, thesearching unit 302 searches for the next map attribute in the prioritylist 411, i.e., “Brand POI”, within 0.5 miles from the destination.

As described above, the searching unit 302 will keep searching for atleast one map attribute according to the priority list 411 within thesearch distance until an appropriate one is found. In one embodiment,the order of the map attributes in the priority list is pre-establishedin default by a provider of the navigation system. In anotherembodiment, the user is allowed to modify the priority list 411 as wellas the search distance 420, according to the driver's preference or theenvironment of the destination.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b illustrate display examples according to the presentinvention in which the map scale changes dynamically to accommodate themajor streets and the destination when the vehicle is approaching thedestination. As exemplified in FIG. 5 a, a vehicle 510 is driven towarda destination 520. When the position and distance measuring unit 306determines that the vehicle 510 and the destination 520 are within apredetermined distance, the searching unit 302 is triggered to searchthe map attributes according to the priority list 411 as shown in FIG.4. As noted above, this searching operation continues until thesearching unit 302 finds at least one appropriate map attribute in theneighborhood of the destination.

For example, according to the priority list 411, the searching unit 302begins the search from “Major Street” near the destination. As can beseen in FIG. 5 b, one “Major Street” 530 is found by the searching unit302 and the information is transmitted to the map scale changing unit303 to dynamically change the map scale to display the map attribute,i.e., “Major Street” 530, along with the destination 520. Thus, thedriver can better visualize the environment of the destination 520 byreceiving more geographical information nearby the destination 520 andthe possibility for the driver to miss the destination 520 will besignificantly reduced.

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b illustrate display examples according to anotherembodiment of he present invention in which the map scale changesdynamically to accommodate the park (landmark) and the destination whenthe vehicle is approaching the destination. In the example of FIG. 6 a,when a vehicle 610 and a destination 620 are within a predetermineddistance, the searching unit 302 starts searching the map attributesaccording to the priority list 411 as shown in FIG. 4. As noted above,the searching unit 302 begins the search from “Major Street” near thedestination 620 since this map attribute is in the highest priorityaccording to the priority list 411.

However, if there is no “Major Street” near the destination, thesearching unit 302 then searches the next map attribute “Brand POI”within the search distance 420. If there is still no “Brand POI” foundnear the destination, the searching unit 302 would keep searching thenext map attributes according to the priority list 411 until at leastone appropriate map attribute is found. For example, if there is neither“Major Street” nor “Brand POI” near the destination 620 in FIG. 6 b, thesearching unit 302 searches the next map attribute “Park” in thepriority list 411. As can be seen in FIG. 6 b, a park 630 (ThornburgPark) is found by the searching unit 302 and the map attributeinformation on the park 630 is transmitted to the map scale changingunit 303 to dynamically change the map to an appropriate scale todisplay the park 630 with the destination 620 on the same displayscreen.

A flow chart of FIG. 7 shows an example of operational steps involvingthe method of displaying a dynamic map scale of the present invention toaccommodate at least one map attribute and the destination on anavigation screen when the vehicle is approaching the destination. Instep 710, the user inputs a destination and the navigation systemdetermines an optimum route to the destination. As known in the art,such an optimum route will be determined based on the map data from thedata storage device 304 (map database) and from the position anddistance measuring device 306 (speed pulse, gyroscope, GPS, etc).

During the route guidance operation, when the position and distancemeasuring device 306 indicates that the vehicle is within apredetermined distance from the destination, the searching unit 302 istriggered to search for at least one map attribute defined in thepriority table 400 (FIG. 4) in step 720. Then, in step 730, the processdetermines whether an appropriate map attribute in the priority list 411is found within the search distance. If so, the information istransmitted to the map scale changing unit 303 and an appropriate mapscale is determined in step 750. In step 760, the system confirms themap scale and displays the destination along with one or more mapattributes.

As stated above, the searching unit 302 searches for the map attributebased on the priority list defined in the priority list 411. In otherwords, if the top priority map attribute, for example, “Major Street” isnot found within the search distance, the searching unit 302 wouldsearch the next map attribute “Brand POI” in the priority list withinthe search distance, in step 740, until the appropriate map attribute isfound. Once the appropriate map attribute is found, it is displayed withthe destination in the appropriate map scale determined by steps 750 and760.

As has been described above, according to the present invention, thenavigation system automatically changes the map scale to help the driverbetter visualize the environment of the destination when the vehicle isapproaching the destination. The map scale is changed dynamically todisplay the destination along with at least one map attribute near thedestination to provide more environmental information to the driver.Thus, because of this enhanced environmental information, even if thedriver is unfamiliar with the destination, he will not miss the arrivalat the destination.

Having described the invention by the description and illustrationsabove, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the inventionand are not to be considered as limiting. Accordingly, the invention isnot to be considered as limited by the foregoing description, butincludes any equivalents.

1. A map display apparatus for a navigation system comprising: a displayunit; an information receiver adapted to receive position informationabout a current location of a vehicle; at least one database to storeand provide maps, map attributes, road networks, geographical features,and point-of-interest (POI) information; a position and distancemeasuring unit for measuring a distance between the vehicle and adestination; and a searching unit, wherein when the position anddistance measuring unit indicates that the vehicle is within apredetermined distance to the destination, the searching unit startssearching for at least one map attribute located within a predeterminedsearch distance from the destination, and the map attribute is displayedwith the destination.
 2. The map display apparatus for a navigationsystem as defined in claim 1, wherein the navigation system furthercomprises a map scale changing unit adapted to dynamically change a mapscale that displays, at the same time, both the destination and at leastone map attribute located within a predetermined search distance fromthe destination detected by the searching unit.
 3. The map displayapparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 1, wherein thenavigation system further comprises a priority table in which the mapattributes are prioritized in a form of a priority list for saidsearching unit to search.
 4. The map display apparatus for a navigationsystem of claim 3, wherein the priority table defines a search distancemeasured from the destination to each map attribute.
 5. The map displayapparatus for a navigation system as defined in claim 2, wherein oncethe searching unit detects at least one map attribute located within thepredetermined search distance from the destination, the map attributeinformation is transmitted to the map scale changing unit to dynamicallychange the map scale to display both the map attribute and thedestination at the same time.
 6. The map display apparatus for anavigation system as defined in claim 4, wherein the searching unitsearches the priority list starting from a first map attribute in thepriority list.
 7. The map display apparatus for a navigation system asdefined in claim 6, wherein the searching unit searches a next mapattribute in the priority list if when a previous map attribute orattributes in the priority list do not exist in the search distance. 8.(canceled)
 9. (canceled)
 10. (canceled)
 11. (canceled)
 12. (canceled)13. (canceled)
 14. (canceled)
 15. An apparatus for displaying a mapincluding a destination along with at least one map attribute,comprising: a display unit; a plurality of input buttons adapted toaccept user instructions; a position and distance measuring unit; and asearching unit, wherein the position and distance measuring unitindicates that the vehicle is within a predetermined search distance toa destination and said searching unit starts searching for at least onemap attribute near within the predetermined search distance from thedestination to be displayed with the destination in the same map. 16.The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus comprises a map scalechanging unit adapted to dynamically change a map scale that displays,at the same time, both the destination and at least one map attributelocated within a predetermined search distance from the destinationdetected by the searching unit.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, whereinthe apparatus further comprises a priority table in which the mapattributes are prioritized in a form of a priority list for saidsearching unit to search.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein thepriority table defines a search distance measured from the destinationto each map attribute.
 19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein once thesearching unit detects at least one map attribute located within thepredetermined search distance from the destination, the map attributeinformation is transmitted to the map scale changing unit to dynamicallychange the map scale to display both the map attribute and thedestination at the same time.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein thesearching unit searches the priority list starting from a first mapattribute in the priority list and searches a next map attribute in thepriority list when a previous map attribute or attributes in thepriority list do not exist in the search distance.